In
Bryansk, 250 miles southwest of Moscow, a huge cattle farm with tens of
thousands of animals is spreading across an area the size of England. Set up by
brothers Alexander and Viktor Linnik, the massive ranch is the biggest of its
kind in both Russia and Europe. Before the crisis the brothers processed 100
head of cattle per day. Next year it will be 1,000 a day, thanks to import bans
that eliminated their competition overnight. There's another added benefit too.
The rouble collapse is making Russian meat much cheaper to export, even if
rising domestic prices are undercutting the local market. "We have the
technology and quality, which makes our products a match for, or even better
than, anything similar from Europe," Alexander told the BBC.

Blunderbuss
ban

Another
area in which Russia has traditionally excelled is cosmonautics. Website Geek.com
this week uncovered an intriguing nugget about Russian space mission policy:
survival kits packed in Soyuz space capsules between 1982 and 2006 contained,
among other things, a shotgun to fend off bears.

A
lot can go wrong when launching a manned space mission, the website
acknowledges. But coming across a Russian brown bear in orbit is unlikely. But
the Space Agency's must-have list made sense. For an astronaut on re-entry to
earth, the chance of landing in Russia's vast wilderness is high. And what do
you find in Russia's remote areas? Bears. You can bet your last rouble on it.
The triple-barrelled TP-82, more blunderbuss than shotgun, was the brilliant
solution, the guys at Geek say. The brutal machine fired small shotgun-like
shells with enough firepower to bring down a 1,000 lb beast. And just in case,
cosmonauts also packed a 14-inch machete and a folding shovel.

Durable
and reliable, the TP-82 might still be in service today if not for the fact
that its SP-P 5.45 x 39 ammunition was phased out years ago, Geek says. But
don't worry: Russian cosmonauts still go into space packing a piece. Only now
it is a standard issue military pistol, rather than a blunderbuss fit for
felling a bear.

Fiery
freefall

For
the more earthbound, there are still ways to join the top guns. Do it yourself
space launches among them. Self-proclaimed Russian stuntman and 'hotdog',
Alexander Chernikov, sets himself on fire before launching himself into
freefall from a 9-storey building, reports a fascinated Mirror journalist. A couple of seconds later
Chernikov safely lands in a pile of snow below that douses the flames.

A two-minute
clip showing the shocking
footage on YouTube has been viewed nearly 1.9 million times. Shot in
Novoaltaysk in the depths of Siberia, it shows Chernikov perched on the edge of
the building before being handed a flaming brand. He sets fire to his legs
before jumping from 100 ft, breathlessly explaining to a camera crew shortly
after he survives the fall that this is "to show the world what a man is
capable of." The local police are less impressed with his artistic
performance and drag him roughly from his snowy pillow.

YouTube
and other social media sites are full of weird and wonderful photos and videos
from Russian life. Observers could be forgiven for pitying "those crazy
Russians" but that misses the point. For many Russians living life on the
edge is what makes life worth living. As Chernikov succinctly puts it:
"Life is beautiful," adding that he considers himself, "a vivid
example of "a world without borders; our possibilities are endless."

The opinion of the writer may not necessarily reflect the position of RBTH.